Verizon Wireless' HP Mini Netbook Rumored to Launch May 17

Verizon Wireless is expected to launch its first netbook, an HP Mini, on May 17, according to the Boy Genius Report. If true, the netbook would conveniently debut with the Verizon MiFi. Created with Novatel Wireless, MiFi lets mobile broadband users create a personal Wi-Fi hot spot.

Pricing for the netbook-which reportedly includes an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz
processor, 1GB of RAM and a 2-in-1 memory
card reader-is said to likely be $199 with a two-year contract, after a mail-in
rebate.

A hands-on review of its predecessor-the HP Mini 1030R XP Home series netbook,
which weighs 2.38 pounds, features a 10.1-inch LED BrightView display and was
also based on the Intel Atom N270-can
be read here.

If the HP Mini 1151NR does launch May 17, it will share its debut with the
MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, which enables Verizon mobile
broadband subscribers to create a Wi-Fi cloud capable of supporting five
devices. Verizon recently introduced the MiFi with Novatel Wireless.

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.